5 Myths & Facts About Sexual Assault

Myth: Any woman could prevent the rape if she really wanted to. No woman can be raped against her will. Fact: According to the F.B.I.'s Uniform Crime Report, "rapes by force comprised 93 percent of reported rape offenses in 2010." All victims are traumatized whether there is physical force or not. Victims experience a feeling of loss of control, risk of pregnancy, sexually transmitted disease, and of not being believed by family and friends.

Myth: Sexual assault does not happen to men and boys.Fact: It can and does happen to men and boys. The frequency of male sexual assault is difficult to estimate for two reasons: 1) our reluctance to recognize the crime, and 2) the victim’s reluctance to report. In our society, men are expected to be in control, powerful, strong and never afraid. It is estimated that 1 in 6 men have been sexually assaulted before the age of 18.

Myth: Rape is an impulsive act of sexual gratification. Most rapes are spontaneous (i.e., a sexually frustrated person can’t control him/her self). Fact: "Research has found that the vast majority of rapes are planned. Rape is the responsibility of the rapist alone. Women, children and men of every age, physical type and demeanor are raped." (From the University of Minnesota's List of Rape Myths) The rapist has it in their mind to rape a person, or they have a specific person in mind.

Myth: Rape does not occur in marriage. Fact: 51% of female rapes in 2010 were committed by current or former intimate partners (According to the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, by the Center for Disease Control). In the majority of these kinds of cases, they were raped more than once. Most states have laws prohibiting rape in marriage.

Myth: Women frequently cry “rape”. There is a high rate of false reporting. Fact: Harry O'Reilly, a retired NYPD sex crimes investigator, stated it this way: "After analyzing all the 'unfounded' reports, we found that there were actually onlyfive cases of women maliciously telling lies and deliberately falsely accusing men of rapes that had never been committed. . . the bottom line, then is that out of 2000 charges of rape, there were five proven liars." (Quoted from the The National Center for Women and Policing publication found here.)